Welcome to your weekly Pittsburgh Steelers “stat pack,” five numbers you need to know to get ready for the upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals. They could relate to the opponent or the Steelers themselves and could involve an individual, unit, or something else. All to help you become the smartest fan for gameday.
29
In the post-Ben Roethlisberger era, from 2022 to today, the Steelers and Bengals have won the same number of games, 29 apiece. Provided Saturday night’s game doesn’t end in a tie, someone will take the lead. Hopefully, it’s the Steelers ending a three-game losing streak as opposed to the Bengals extending their winning streak to five.
2.61
Per NextGenStats, Bengals RB Chase Brown’s average time behind the line of scrimmage. That’s the quickest in football. In other words, Brown is hitting the hole and fast. It’s no shock, given his playing style and speed through the hole.
As of this writing, Brown is questionable to play with an ankle sprain. We’ll see if he can hit the hole with the same gusto, assuming he plays at less than 100 percent. By comparison, Najee Harris’ time is 2.84 seconds, which is about average league-wide.
For context, the longest time behind the LOS goes to Denver’s Jaleel McLaughlin at 3.07 seconds.
100
The number of receiving yards WR George Pickens needs to finish the year with 1,000. If he hits it, this will be his second season in his first three years, reaching four digits after reaching 1,140 last season.
It would make Pickens only the third receiver in Steelers’ history to have a pair of 1,000-yard seasons in his first three in the league. He would join Mike Wallace and Plaxico Burress as the others.
85.1
Also per NextGenStats, TE Pat Freiermuth’s catch rate. That’s the best mark of any qualifying tight end or receiver in the NFL. Freiermuth remains a trusty source for his quarterbacks as he looks to become the first Steelers tight end to lead the team in receptions since Heath Miller in 2012.
By comparison, WR Calvin Austin III comes in at 63.2 percent, while George Pickens is closer to the bottom at 59.8 percent.
35, 36
The points differential for the Steelers and Bengals. Pittsburgh is plus-35, Cincinnati plus-36. Despite the two teams having different records, 10-6 versus 8-8, the point spreads are pretty close. The Bengals’ defense has been much better lately, and their four wins have closed the gap.
After their 44-38 loss to the Steelers, the Bengals were minus-25 in point differential. Pittsburgh? They were plus-72. Times have changed.
